Lone Photowalk with the Canonet 28 (Dec. 17, 2011)

cmontoya

Film: Centuria 200 (expired 9/2009)

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1. This is Bruno. He always looks so serious until his masters return. He isn't friendly to strangers but he's not unfriendly either. He just snobs them just like what he's doing to us.

2. There are some houses under a bridge in B. Rodriguez. The old woman is shoveling some 'sand' from the river just to make ends meet I presume. I wonder whether I could do that without hurting my back.

3. Ukay-ukay. For non-Filipinos, these are surplus clothes sold at bargain prices. There are ukay-ukays for the rich and this one's for the poor. My wife goes to the latter. She sometimes finds good, branded ones.

4. It's against the law to urinate in public but this ain't Singapore, unfortunately. Men, obviously, are the most notorious for doing this. Women would find a comfort room.

5. Puppies are illegally sold near Robinsons. Some of the pups are put inside that basket hanging by the railing. Just today (Dec. 30), I stopped a puppy from climbing out and told the seller to put it back because it would risk hurting itself (either from the fall or being ran over).

6. A part of me wishes they were smart enough not to bring kids into this world only to put them in this condition. Then again, one could debate that poor people have the right to bear children too.

7. The dormitories of priests always look dreary in my opinion.

8. I forgot the explanation about the use of idols in the churches. I believe they're called 'symbols' you pray to. I really don't know whether they work or not but maybe there's a psychological benefit to praying. Just like a placebo.

9. People selling paper lanterns for Christmas. I made one of these when I was a kid. We used bamboo strips.

10. Man selling 'taho'. I had to Wiki what it is for English speakers, 'Taho is a warm treat made up of soft beancurd which is the taho itself, dark caramel syrup called arnibal, and tapioca pearls. It is often sold in neighborhoods by street vendors who yell out "taho" in a manner like vendors in the stands at sporting events yell out "hotdogs" or "peanuts".' I love this drink.

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GrahamNR17 · Expire: 2012-09-06

Really interesting stuff. I love this forum for this kind of photography, where I get a little glimpse into other cultures in far away places. Your explanation of the photos made them even more interesting Cool

Now we need to get those puppy sellers sorted out Evil or Very Mad

cmontoya · Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 5:23 am Post subject:

@Graham: Sadly, in a poor country such as ours, people would do anything for money. People have been reporting these puppy sellers over and over again but they keep coming back. The penalties aren't really harsh for this particular 'crime.'

During the night photowalk the next day after this set, a woman possibly less than 18 asked me whether I was a Korean. After that question, I already knew she was a prostitute. I acted gentlemanly, nevertheless, and just replied "Not right now." This was all in English. I then asked whether she wanted me to take a photo of her. She smiled and arranged her hair but my companions caught up with me and sensing that I knew them, she ran possibly embarrassed. Poor kid, I would have given her something for her time.

dragom · Expire: 2013-12-24

Nice photos.